Ohana
by bluedragon03
Summary: Ever since their parents passed away, Zeref has been struggling to keep custody of his brother, but things take a bad turn when they get the worlds ugliest cat. (A Lilo and Stitch AU. Cover art courtesy of Leons-7 on tumblr).
1. Chapter 1

***Alright, so this is an idea I had while watching Lilo and Stitch (I love it so much). I thought about it for a while and talked to some people about it, and decided that I was going to write it! I really hope you guys like it!**

X x x x

"This is the final decision of your queen! All Exceed eggs will be taken and sent to another planet to fulfill a mission that will be implanted in their brains by the Queen herself!"

 _And so it was, all the unborn exceeds were taken from their parents and sent through time and space to a planet far, far away from their planet of origin. However, there was an error in the delivery, and an unknown number of eggs slipped away. The Grand Council has dedicated a special task force to finding them, but as of yet have had no luck._

 _One of the escaped eggs made it's way to a water planet known to it's inhabitants as "Earth" and landed on a small island called Hawaii._

Natsu was running as fast as he could, fumbling with his dancers uniform as he went. It probably would have been easier to do if he weren't dripping wet, but that wasn't his fault! He _had_ to feed Pudge the fish or else! It wasn't his fault Zeref had forgotten to buy more Peanut Butter! _In fact,_ it was now all _Zeref's_ fault he was late to his fire dancing class.

Natsu was only little, so they hadn't given him any fire yet, so basically he was learning traditional hula dances and stuff, but he was sure that he would get to twirl fire soon! Zeref had promised him he would get too, which meant he definitely would! Natsu and Zeref's dad had been a famous fire dancer, and Natsu wanted to be just like him. Zeref told him if he went to all his lessons and practiced a lot he would grow up and be just like their dad!

As Natsu slipped inside the back window (he was good at climbing and didn't want to be caught coming in late) he reminded himself he had to work hard. Ever since their parents died Zeref had been working hard to support them, and Natsu knew that the classes cost money. Natsu didn't really know how much because Zeref wouldn't tell him, but he knew they didn't have much, which meant he had to get extra good that way he could make lots of money so Zeref wouldn't have to worry so much.

Natsu hid behind the curtain, waiting for the opportune moment to sneak in. Finding it, he hurried out onto the stage, hoping that no one would notice he was still soaking wet. In no time he was in formation, right in the middle of the front line with the rest of the kids. Even though they were only a few moves before the end, Natsu nailed the rest of it. That is, until Gray Fullbuster slipped in the water that had dripped off of Natsu and brought the rest of the boys with him.

"Cut! Cut!" Makarov, the teacher, called. "Natsu," he said, sounding exhausted, "why are you all wet?"

"It's sandwich day!" Natsu replied.

"What?"

"I'm late because i had to take Pudge the fish a peanut butter sandwich!"

"Pudge is a fish?"

"Yeah, and every Wednesday I take him a peanut butter sandwich, but we were all out of peanut butter! My brother told me to just give him a tuna sandwich but I can't do that!" Natsu lowered his voice to a whisper, "do you know what tuna is?"

"Ah, fish?"

"EXACTLY!" Natsu shouted, "IF I GAVE PUDGE TUNA I'D BE AN ABOMINATION!"

"Why is this so important to you Natsu?"

"Pudge controls the weather."

There was a moment of silence that often happened when Natsu made observations like that. It was a loud silence that weighed heavily on his eardrums, even though it only lasted a moment.

"You're crazy," Gray said. Natsu spun around on the spot, snarling in a threatening way that shouldn't have been possible for a child his size, but probably had something to do with his oversized canines. It was in this exact moment that Gray Fullbuster realized that he had screwed up.

Natsu launched himself at Gray, and started punching and pulling at every inch of the boy he could find. Gray threw up and arm to defend himself, and Natsu promptly sank his teeth into it. Gray was shouting and kicking too, but suddenly hands wrapped themselves around Natsu's stomach and he was dragged off of Gray by Makarov. Gray scrambled to his feet and hurried to stand by his brother Lyon, who looked as ready to kill as a five year old had any right to.

"I'm sorry!" Natsu cried. "I won't do it again, I promise!"

"Natsu…"

"I'll be good! I just wanna dance, I practiced!"

"I think we should call your brother."

"But I practiced!"

Natsu was sequestered on the porch for the rest of the class, and the rest of the boys completely ignored him when they burst through the door and down the stairs. He heard floorboards creak and felt a presence by his side.

"I called your brother," Makarov said gently. "He want's you to wait here on the porch for him, okay?" Natsu didn't respond. He merely sniffed and looked away. Makarov sighed and left, leaving Natsu to his thoughts.

The fight hadn't been his fault! Gray had been asking for it for making fun of Pudge! Natsu couldn't help it if he'd lost his temper! But still… he had missed the rest of the class, even though he was supposed to be working extra hard to be sure that he would be able to help his brother some day. Guilt weighed down on him, his brother worked hard for him, and Natsu seemed to mess up everything he touched. "I bet Zeref wishes he had a better younger brother…"

Natsu got to his feet and began wandering after Gray and the others, Zeref would want him to apologize.

Zeref sighed and hung up the phone.

"What's the matter, Zeref?" Mavis asked, noting his subdued demeanor.

"Natsu got into another fight," He said, pulling on his shirt. He'd just finished his shift. He was a fire dancer at one of those big resorts. It didn't pay all that well, but the tips were good, and it made him feel closer to his father, not to mention during his shifts he could bring Natsu and the kid could sit and watch, mesmerized, all night. He had an odd fascination with fire. Mavis was the waitress he'd been crushing on, but hadn't been able to ask out because he was too busy trying to take care of his little brother.

"Another one? Was it Gray again?"

"I think so. Apparently the kid called Natsu crazy for taking that fish sandwiches, and Natsu got mad."

"He insulted Pudge? No wonder Natsu got angry enough to hit him." Zeref shook his head.

"I wish Natsu would learn to control his temper better though." Mavis placed a hand on his shoulder.

"He's just having trouble adjusting. You're doing your best Zeref, things will get better, I'm sure."

"Thanks, Mavis," he replied, placing a his hand over hers. "I have to go now, I'll see you around."

"Bye, Zeref! Tell Natsu I said hi!"

"Will do!"

"Stay away from me, freak!" Gray said, crossing his arms. "Why would I accept your apology?"

"Yeah, you bit him!" Lyon said. The boys marched off together, leaving Natsu standing alone in the forest, the sudden quiet weighing heavily on him. He hated the quiet, quiet was when people were thinking things too mean to say. Sadly, he turned and began to make his way home, forgetting that he was supposed to be waiting on Zeref.

"No, no, no," Zeref mumbled, staring at the empty porch. "Natsu, you were supposed to wait for me here! You had better be home!" Zeref started sprinting in that direction as fast as he could.

The social worker was coming today, and everything had to be perfect or else Zeref might lose Natsu. The social worker absolutely could _not_ get there before Zeref and find Natsu alone. No doubt Natsu had gotten into all sorts of mischief without him there. _Oh no,_ Zeref thought, _what if he's found the matches again._ No matter where Zeref hid them Natsu always seemed to find them, it was almost like he could smell them.

He ran across the street without looking and was almost hit by a black sedan. Zeref kicked the bumper in frustration. Didn't this person understand he didn't have time to nearly die? He had to get home before his brother burnt the house down.

"Watch it, moron!"

He kept running as fast as he could in that direction, making it home in minutes. He sighed in relief when he reached the bottom of the stairs to their front door and heard Elvis blaring loudly. _Natsu is home, and I don't see any smoke. Thank God._ He climbed the steps to his front door, then turned the knob, but the door didn't budge. _Dammit._

Zeref laid down and pushed his head through the dog door, looking around. He spotted his brother lying on the floor next to their record player, striking matches and watching them burn, then dropping them.

"Natsu Dragneel you open this door right now!"

"Leave me alone to die." Natsu continued to strike matches and watch them burn, refusing to drop them until they burnt alarmingly close to his fingertips.

"Natsu! Be careful! You'll hurt yourself!" Zeref cried. "How did you find those anyway?" Natsu didn't reply. Zeref rolled his eyes and groaned in frustration. He stuck his arm through the dog door and stretched as far as he could, flipping the deadbolt. That was when he noticed the nails. "Are you _kidding me,_ Natsu? You nailed the damn door shut?"

He grabbed the hammer and began wrenching the nails out of the door.

"Natsu. I. Swear. To God. When I get in there." He was in a really bad position to get the nails, it was hard to get leverage from all the way down here. "I'm going to put you in the blender, press puree, and use you as lighter fluid for my next show!"

The world moved and Zeref wasn't half in the house anymore, he was laying on the ground looking up at a man in a black suit carrying a suitcase. Zeref gulped. The man raised his eyebrows, and Zeref climbed to his feet, a sinking feeling filling his gut.

"Uh, hi! You must be the Social Worker."

"I'm the moron."

"Oh, _oh."_ Now he _really_ had a sinking feeling. "I'm so sorry, I was just in a rush, and If I had known who you were I would never… I can pay for that."

"It's a rental."

"Oh."

"Are you going to invite me inside?"

"I thought we could sit out here and talk," Zeref said, gesturing with the hammer. Then, realizing what he was doing, he dropped it out of sight, laughing nervously.

"I don't think so."

"Right, um, this way then." He gestured weakly. Zeref walked to the side of the porch and vaulted himself over the railing. He could practically feel the social worker making negative notes about him. A heavy ball of dread had formed in his chest. He finally made it to the door, his heart sinking with every broken surfboard and old window screen he passed. But everyone had a little junk in their yard right? It wasn't that big of a deal. A little voice in the back of his head told him that not everyone had social workers coming to visit to see if they were capable of taking care of their little brothers. _DAMMIT._ The back door was locked too.

"Uh, wait here," Zeref said, another nervous laugh escaped him and he walked around the side of the house and broke a window. He winced at the loud sound of breaking glass. He was sure the social worker wouldn't like that. On his way to the back door he tripped over a few things (he was chronically clumsy) and turned off Natsu's music. He reached the door at last and opened it, panting slightly.

"Lemonade?" He asked.

 _I'm doomed,_ Zeref thought as he walked into the kitchen and saw the mess Natsu had made, including a drawing he had done of himself labeled "me alone." Zeref backed up against the fridge and crumpled it in his fist, stuffing it into his back pocket.

"I never leave Natsu alone," he said, "except for just now of course, but I just had to run to the store and, ahh!" He looked over to see... _something_ … burning on the stove. He rushed over and shut it off.

"You let your brother use the stove?"

"No, of course not, he knows he's not supposed too, but sometimes he just doesn't listen, you know how kids are," Zeref voice had raised an entire octave due to nerves, and he really hoped that the social worker hadn't noticed.

"Are you saying you can't control your brother?" He asked.

"Ah, no, of course not!" Even though this man wasn't imposing in stature, Zeref couldn't help but be intimidated. This man could have Natsu taken away from him. "Natsu, dear, come in here." A few seconds passed in which Zeref sent a prayer to any god that might be listening that his brother would do as he was told. When Zeref heard his feet padding their way towards the kitchen Zeref visibly relaxed.

"Are you dying?" Natsu asked when he entered the room, looking confused.

"Of course no- wait, what?"

"You only call me dear when something is wrong."

"I-don't be silly sweetie. This is the social worker," he said, trying to change the subject. Natsu had a short attention span anyway.

"What's your name?" Natsu asked, turning his eyes towards the man. _Diversion tactics were a success,_ Zeref thought.

"My name is Erik," he said, extending his hand. Natsu turned his head to look at the back of his hand instead of shaking it.

"Your knuckles say Cobra. Cobra Erik. That's a really big scar on your eye, did you have to wear an eyepatch ever?" Erik did not respond. "Did you ever kill anyone?"

Zeref face palmed.

"We're getting off subject. Are you happy?" Natsu smiled wide and launched into the speech Zeref had taught him. He was surprised how smoothly it went until that one fatal word slipped out of Natsu's mouth.

"And I get disciplined?" Zeref's heart fell into his shoes. _Oh no._

"Yeah! Sometimes five times a day! With bricks!" Cold. Zeref felt very cold all of a sudden.

"Ahahaha," his laugh sounded unnatural even to him. "That's enough sugar for you." He placed a hand over Natsu's mouth to keep the brat from ruining everything and quelled under the look Erik was giving him.

Erik made his way to the door, and Zeref followed him, feeling his nerves grating.

"Just in case you were wondering," Erik said, "this did not go well. You have three days to change my mind." Zeref felt like crying as the door shut, but when it thudded to a close, Zeref was consumed with rage. He rounded on Natsu, who was standing in the hall. There were three seconds of silence before it started.

"AAAAAHHHHHH!" Natsu screamed, scrambling out of Zeref's reach.

"Get back here, Natsu!" Zeref chased after him, and actually managed to catch him, but released him when Natsu licked his arm. "Ew, Natsu!" He got to his feet and chased after Natsu again, though After a few twists and turns Zeref lost sight of him, so he stopped and waited. Right on queue, he heard the dryer door open, then close again. He rolled his eyes and walked into the laundry room, laying down a blanket in front of the dryer.

He quietly climbed on top, then opened and closed the back door, then waited. After a few seconds Natsu opened the dryer door and climbed out, peering around carefully. Zeref climbed down behind him then snatched up the four corners of the blanket, bringing Natsu with them. He could hear Natsu growling from within, but he ignored him until he laid the blanket out on the living room floor and Natsu tried to escape again. Zeref grabbed his arm to keep him from going anywhere.

"Look at me Natsu!" He said, "What were you thinking, saying that stuff to the social worker? Do you wanna get taken away? Do you understand what's going on?"

"NO!" Natsu screamed.

"No you don't understand?"

"NOO!"

"NO WHAT?"

"NOOO!" With that, it seemed, Natsu was finished. He threw himself onto the ground and continued mumbling.

"Ugh, you're such a pain," Zeref groaned. Natsu leapt to his feet.

"WELL IF I'M SUCH A PAIN MAYBE YOU SHOULD SELL ME AND BUY AN IGUANA INSTEAD!"

"AT LEAST THE IGUANA WOULD BEHAVE BETTER THAN YOU!"

"AND IT WOULD BE SMARTER," Natsu continued, now climbing the stairs to his room.

"AND QUIETER!"

"AND YOU WOULD LIKE IT 'CAUSE IT WOULD BE UGLY LIKE YOU!" Natsu entered his room and slammed the door. Zeref marched over to the couch and picked up a pillow and screamed into it.

Once he'd vented his frustration the guilt and dread set back in. That visit had gone badly, _really badly._ He'd also yelled at Natsu, when he was probably still upset about what had happened at class that day. Zeref sat on the couch and rested his head on his knees, tears prickling his eyes. What was he supposed to do, how could he convince the social worker he wasn't a complete idiot. _Mom, dad, what do I do?_

There was a knock at Natsu's door, and Zeref poked his head in the door. Natsu noticed his eyes seemed a little red, but he ignored it. It wasn't unusual for Zeref to cry. Mavis said he was "emotionally fragile," but never when Zeref was around. Natsu had a feeling Zeref wouldn't like to be called that.

"Hey," he said, smiling faintly, "I brought you some pizza in case you were hungry." Natsu didn't respond, so Zeref set it on the bedside table.

"We're a broken family aren't we?" Zeref's expression softened.

"Maybe a little, but as long as we have each other, that's all that matters."

"I like you better as a brother than a dad." Zeref opened his mouth to respond, but Natsu continued talking, "and you like me better as a brother than an iguana, right?" Zeref felt his heart break, his guilt multiplying instantly.

"Hey, hey, of course I do." Zeref climbed into Natsu's bed and pulled Natsu into his lap, cradling him close to his chest.

"I hit Gray Fullbuster today."

"I know."

"And then I bit him."

"You _bit_ him? Oh Natsu…"

"Are you disappointed in me?"

"I was at first, but I know you're trying you're best. I'm sorry I yelled at you."

"That's okay, I know you're trying your best too." They were quiet for a few minutes, then Natsu jumped suddenly and reached for the bedside table. He snatched up his camera and handed it to Zeref.

"OH! My camera is full again!" He turned his head to look at the photo's he had already taped up and continued in a hallowed whisper. "Aren't they beautiful?" Zeref looked up at the wall of photos, slightly concerned. Natsu only took pictures of fire and dragons, or things that reminded him of them.

 _Dear God,_ he thought, _my little brother is going to grow up to be an arsonist isn't he?_

 ***A/N- Alright, so this chapter was a little heavy, but what did you think of it? I don't know how true to the plot this is going to be, but anyone who watches the movie as often as I do noticed I did some direct quotes. I may actually just cut out Jumba and Pligly and just make this a cute fluff story about Zeref and Natsu (and Mavis). I'm not sure yet, however, so maybe if I figure something out we'll have the aliens after all (probably not). Let me know what you think about this crossover in the comment section, I always love hearing back from readers about my stories!**


	2. Chapter 2

***A/N- First off I would like to thank so much everyone that followed/favorited and reviewed the first chapter! Also- I figured out who I am going to cast as Jumba and Pligly, so the alien plot is a go, I just have to figure out how I'm going to work it. Obviously the original plot from the movie with them trying to catch Stitch isn't going to work, but I have a few ideas, and we'll see where those go. The casting is going to be pretty random because I decided to go off canon personalities and not relationships, so some of the relationships that develop in this story might seem a little weird, but oh well, what can you do?**

"Zeref, I want a cat!"

"No."

"PLEASE!"

"NO."

"BUT WHY?" Natsu whined, falling dramatically on the floor in front of Zeref, acting as if the lack of a cat in his life was costing him the ability to stand.

"Because I don't trust you not to set it on fire."

"Why would I set the cat on fire?" Natsu asked, looking at Zeref like he was crazy.

"You set everything on fire."

"Yeah, but not a cat!"

"Only because we don't have a cat."

"ZEREF I WANT A CAT!"

"AND I WANT YOU TO STOP ASKING FOR A CAT BUT WE CAN'T ALWAYS GET WHAT WE WANT!"

Natsu huffed loudly, it was becoming apparent to him that this was not going well. He sat up and looked at what Zeref was doing with his hands, intrigued. He was sewing something, but Natsu hadn't managed to figure out what yet. There was a pile of patched fabric in Zeref's lap, but he couldn't tell much about it, but Zeref appeared to be making repairs. Occasionally he would remove the last few stitches he had done and try again. Zeref tossed a discarded patch onto Natsu's face, and Natsu was intrigued to see that the fabric was singed. Now he _had_ to know what his brother was doing. Natsu climbed up onto the couch next to Zeref and squished himself as close as he could get, peering down curiously at Zeref's hands.

"Hey," Zeref said, jostling Natsu back playfully. "Move your fat head, I can't see what I'm doing!"

"My head is not fat!" Natsu replied, standing up and banging his little fists on Zeref's head as revenge.

"Hey-hey- _hey-_ ow! Natsu cut it out, that hurts! I was only joking!" Natsu sat down, humphing angrily. His ire didn't last longer than a few seconds before he was once again peering at his brother's hands, trying to figure out what he was sewing.

"What're you doing, Zeref?"

"It's a surprise."

"NO FAIR TELL ME!"

"Just relax I'm almost done!"

"Hurry up!" Zeref rolled his eyes at his brothers eagerness as he put in the finishing stitches. He couldn't tie off the thread fast enough as Natsu was practically bouncing up and down out of eagerness to see what Zeref was making.

"Alright, alright, I'm finished! Hold your horses, Gimme a minute."

"You've already had a minute!"

"Well then gimme another!" Natsu screamed in frustration and threw himself back onto the couch dramatically covering his eyes with his forearm. Zeref couldn't help but chuckle at his little brothers theatrics. He got to his feet and held up the skirt, undoing the tangles before holding it out in front of himself to inspect it. He was no master seamstress, that was for sure, but he got the job done.

"Alright," he said, "tadaa!" Natsu opened his eyes eagerly, shooting upright excitedly, but when his eyes landed on the thing his brother was holding up, he tilted his head in confusion.

"I don't get it."

"You don't-? What's not to get? It's part of a fire dancer outfit! Look!" Natsu turned his head back to look at the thing once more. It did _vaguely_ resemble the skirt type thing Zeref wore during his shows, but it wasn't near as pretty or nice as that one.

"Are you _sure_?" Natsu asked, looking skeptical.

"Hey!" Zeref replied indignantly, "I worked hard on it! It's not easy repairing a twenty year old skirt!"

"Why do you still have it?"

"Because Dad made it for me when I was little!" Natsu's entire demeanor changed from skeptical to awed instantly.

"Really? Daddy made it?" Zeref nodded, smiling.

"I found it in my closet last night, and I thought I would patch it up for you! It's not very nice anymore, I burnt it some, but it was my first one and I wanted to give it to you!"

"Really?" Natsu exclaimed, his face lighting up, "it's for me?" Zeref nodded again. Natsu laughed excitedly and jumped off the couch, running to Zeref's side and reaching for the skirt. "Lemme try it on!" Zeref couldn't help but smile at his brothers excitement as he knelt down and helped him put it on.

"You know, since I'm off work today, and you missed your class yesterday, why don't I teach you a few things?"

"REALLY?!" Natsu cried, his excitement escalating further.

"Yeah, it'll be fun!"

"ALRIGHT!" Natsu ran off to get ready, or burn the house down, maybe both, and Zeref went up to him room to get on his work clothes. After the day he'd had yesterday he needed to let loose as much as Natsu did, and he couldn't think of a better way to spend time with his brother.

Of course, Zeref wouldn't allow Natsu to actually touch any fire, he was far too young and reckless for that. But one day, if he ever learned some restraint, Zeref would teach him about fire dancing. The phone rang while Zeref changed, he answered it while unbuttoning his shirt, securing the phone between his cheek and shoulder.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Zeref, it's me."

"Oh hey Mavis," Zeref replied, ignoring the way his heart skipped a beat. "What's up?"

"Actually I was wondering what you were doing today," she said.

"Um, I'm teaching Natsu some dancing and stuff, y'know, because he got kicked out of class yesterday."

"Oh that's perfect!" Mavis said, sounding unsuspectingly thrilled. "I have something for Natsu, do you mind if I bring it over?"

"You got Natsu a present?" Zeref asked, pleasantly surprised. He hadn't expected Mavis to be so sweet to his brother when they weren't even dating. She had no obligation to Natsu; which of course only made Zeref like her more.

"Well no, not exactly, I made it."

"You _made_ him a present?"

"Well, yeah. I know he has a hard time fitting in, and that Fullbuster kid made fun of his weather fish. I just had this idea and I decided to do it to cheer him up."

"Oh, um, thank you, that was really nice. Natsu is going to get spoiled with all the presents he's receiving today, but yeah, you can bring it on over. We'll be out on the beach probably."

"Awesome!" Mavis chirped, "I'll be over soon! Bye Zeref!"

"Bye Mavis, see you soon," Zeref replied. He hung up the phone, feeling a bit light headed. Mavis was on her way _here._ What was happening to him.

"So your girlfriend is coming over?" Natsu asked. Zeref nearly jumped out of his skin, spinning on the spot to see Natsu standing in the doorway with his little arms folded.

"Natsu, how long have you been standing there? And she's not my girlfriend!"

"Not long, I just heard you say goodbye while you were making that dumb face you make whenever you talk about her."

"I don't do that!"

"You do so! You go just like this," Natsu made an exaggerated dreamy looking expression that had Zeref burning at the ears. Did he really make that face? There was no way he was that transparent, but if even _Natsu_ had picked up on his feelings for Mavis, then maybe he wasn't being as subtle as he had originally thought.

"W-whatever," Zeref stuttered, still hot in the face. "The point is that she's not my girlfriend."

"But you want her to be." Zeref's face burned even brighter as he turned away and grabbed his fire dancing supplies. _Perceptive little brat isn't he?_ He thought. When he turned back around he grinned evilly at Natsu, who began to look nervous. He didn't like that look. Zeref always wore that look when he was about to pick on Natsu.

"Oh yeah, and what about that little Heartfilia girl, the hula dancer?" Natsu turned an impressive shade of red for a five year old. " _Your_ girlfriend is very pretty."

"She's not my girlfriend!" Natsu protested.

"But you want her to be," Zeref said, throwing Natsu's own words back at him.

"Why would I want someone as weird as her to be my girlfriend?"

"You liiike her!" Zeref teased, making mocking kissy faces at Natsu.

"DO NOT!"

"Do sooo!"

"Alright I call a truce!" Natsu said grumpily, sticking his little hand out for Zeref to shake. Zeref chuckled and took it, accepting Natsu's truce.

"Now that that's settled," he said, scooping Natsu up and throwing him over his shoulder carrying him out of Zeref's room and through the house.

"Hey, put me down!"

"Nope." Zeref carried the protesting Natsu all the way to the beach, where he plopped him down on the sand gracelessly next to his fire baton and fuel and grinned.

"When's Mavis gonna get here?" Natsu asked, looking around like he expected her to be hiding behind a bush or something.

"I don't know," Zeref said, "she said soon."

"But how soon is soon?"

"I don't know!" Zeref repeated, "I don't know where she lives, I'm assuming she was coming from home."

"I like Mavis!" Natsu declared.

"I like her too," Zeref replied idly, looking around and realizing he'd forgotten to bring matches. "Oh, oops."

"I have them here," Natsu said, holding them out to him.

"What?! How did you find them! I hid them in a totally new spot!" Natsu shrugged.

"I just know."

"Well stop knowing!" Zeref exclaimed, "you're not allowed to play with the matches!"

"But if I hadn't known this time you would have had to walk all the way back to the house!"

"Alright," Zeref conceded, "I'll give you that one, but you're not allowed to 'just know' anymore."

"How can I stop just knowing something I just know? That's like trying to tell me to stop knowing my name is Natsu."

"Well if you can't stop knowing then you have to stop getting them out! It looks really bad when the social worker comes and you're playing with matches you know."

"Do you think he's ever killed anyone?" Zeref slapped his hand to his forehead. _What is it with this kid?_

"I don't know," Zeref replied, grinning evilly again, "but I bet if he thinks you've caught on to his dirty little secret then maybe you're going to be next." Zeref couldn't help but chuckle at the sheer horror on Natsu's face.

"Don't scare the poor kid!" Mavis called. Zeref's head snapped up and his eyes landed on her. She was wearing a hula outfit, but not her work one, and she was walking down the beach towards them, hiding something behind her back.

"I was just teasing," Zeref defended.

"Natsu, your social worker isn't going to kill you, Zeref was just being mean!"

"Hey!" Natsu protested, "Don't be mean to me I'm just a kid!"

"I'm pretty sure you're a demon."

"Natsu is not a demon," Mavis laughed, "and I have a present for you!"

"For me?" Natsu asked, leaping to his feet excitedly. "What is it?"

"Close your eyes!" Mavis said, side stepping around Natsu so that the gift remained hidden behind her back. Zeref peered around to see what it was, and he couldn't help but grin. He knew what it was at once, and he couldn't help thinking how _thoughtful_ it was. Natsu closed his eyes impatiently fidgeting while he waited. Mavis took the gift out from behind her back and began twirling it around her fingers expertly. "Alright, Open!"

Mavis's gift to Natsu was one of her old high school majorette batons. She had sewn yellow and orange fabric that had been cut to look like flames and placed them over the rubber stoppers. When she twirled it it looked almost like she was twirling fire, and it was the perfect proportions for Natsu to use it like Zeref would his fire baton.

"I thought, since you're still too little and inexperienced to twirl real fire, you might like to have this to practice with!"

"Wow!" Natsu said, "This is so cool!" He took it from her and gave it an experimental toss, which promptly landed on his head. "OW!" While Zeref examined his brothers head, Mavis chuckled.

"And the rubber stoppers on the end should keep him from getting hit too badly with them. Though that's not to say I never gave myself a wicked headache or jammed my finger with one…" She added quietly. Zeref snorted, he could very clearly imagine Mavis twirling one of these around between her fingers and koncking herself on the head.

"It's only funny until it happens to you," Mavis said, in a singsong voice. "You laugh now Dragneel, but you won't be laughing when it's you that's on the receiving end of one of these suckers." Zeref glanced over his shoulder at her, and for the first time noticed that she carried a long cylinder slung over her shoulder, and a bag he was sure had fuel and a lighter in it. _Looks like I'm not the only one putting on a show for Natsu tonight._

Zeref taught Natsu only the most basic moves while Mavis sat on the sand and watched, and while the baton wasn't perfect, it certainly boosted Natsu's morale. He hadn't asked to twirl real fire all night, perhaps satisfied with his pretend fire for now. There was a part of Zeref that was sure Natsu was planning some sort of mischief, but he didn't act suspicious of Natsu in case he was imaging it so he didn't ruin the night. All three of them were having a good time, and it was a great way to lighten up after the Social Workers ominous words yesterday. He wondered slightly if Erik was going to be stopping by again today, and prayed to God that if he did Natsu would behave himself. Maybe he wouldn't act out with Mavis there.

"I think that's enough practice for tonight," Zeref said, after Natsu clocked himself with the baton for the tenth time. Natsu rubbed his head sullenly and didn't disagree, apparently he had had enough of hurting himself for one night.

"Alright," Zeref said grabbing his lighter fluid and matches. He soaked the ends of his fire baton then lit them. "I might as well practice my routine while I'm out here," he said, twirling his baton slowly so it wouldn't go out as he backed away from the group. **(The majorettes in my high school band twirled fire batons, and you do in fact have to keep them moving constantly or they will go out. I'm operating under the assumption that really big ones fire dancers use are the same way.)**

Natsu looked _way_ too excited, considering how often he saw Zeref's show anyway. _Natsu likes fire a bit_ too _much,_ Zeref thought, not for the first time. He grinned at Mavis, who smiled back at him.

"I don't think I've gotten to see the whole thing yet," Mavis said. "I've always had to serve tables."

"It's awesome!" Natsu exclaimed, turning to face Mavis. "And It's different every time!" Zeref Gave Natsu an incredulous look then met Mavis's eyes over Natsu's hair and shook his head. He almost _never_ changed his routine. What the hell? He shook his head again, discarding his brothers strange declaration and began his routine. Natsu sat transfixed as usual, and Mavis watched pleasantly, her lips spread in a content smile. He couldn't help but show off a little with her watching him like that, and he added perhaps a little more flare than he normally did at work.

Natsu was eating it up, and Mavis seemed to be enjoying herself too. At this point Zeref had to force himself to focus on the fire in his hands so he wouldn't burn himself. It was getting more and more difficult to focus as the sunset and illuminated Mavis, seeming to light her hair on fire. Not the kind of fire that Natsu seemed drawn to-the destructive kind- the kind that Prometheus climbed Mount Olympus for, and dared to steal from the Gods to obtain. It was the kind of fire that breathed life into you and brought warmth to your extremities when you were freezing to death.

 _Whoa there Zeref,_ he thought to himself, wrenching his eyes away from her and focusing on not setting himself on fire again. _Where did that come from? You just need to calm down. There too much on your plate for you to be thinking that sort of thing about a girl. You have to worry about Natsu._ Still, he couldn't resist showing off a little more, and he'd be lying if he said it was wholly for Natsu's benefit- although his brothers mystified expression was definitely a bonus.

Getting an idea for a grand finish he threw his baton high into the sky and grabbed his bottle of lighter fluid. He opened his mouth and poured some in, careful not to ingest any. He reached up and caught his baton. He held it in front of his face, and sprayed the lighter fluid out, flames shooting out in front of him. He was careful not to burn either of them, and He dropped his baton in the sand to smother it and bowed low when he was finished. Natsu cheered loudly and Mavis clapped happily.

"I guess you've never done the last one at work because the stage's ceiling is lined with straw?" Zeref nodded grimacing.

"I have to be careful with the tosses because I might catch the place on fire, and that would probably get _me_ fired." Zeref gave a half laugh at the pun while Mavis nodded understandingly.

"Well I guess now it's my turn."

"What?" Natsu asked, looking at Mavis, shocked.

"You're brother's not the only one who knows how to twirl fire!" She said, giving Natsu a mischievous look.

She stripped off her grass skirt to reveal a pair of tight athletic shorts, and pulled a hair bow of her wrist. She pulled her long mane of blonde hair into a high ponytail, and Zeref couldn't help but worry she'd set her hair on fire. As if she read his mind, she grinned at him and told him not to worry, she'd been doing this for a long time.

From the long canister Mavis pulled out two of what he recognized to be fire batons that high school majorettes used, and began prepping them.

"This is the routine for the closer that we marched my senior year," Mavis said. The words that obviously were Marching Band lingo rolled off her tongue naturally, not that that sentence had made any sense to Zeref.

"So I brought a recording so you can get the full experience." Mavis pulled a small stereo out of the bag she'd brought in. "Zeref, will you press play when I say go?" Zeref nodded, and placed his fingers on the key, ready. Mavis lit her batons and crouched down a short distance from them. She spun her batons slowly to keep them lit, then nodded at Zeref. He pressed play obediently, and the music started.

Mavis's mouth moved silently as she performed her routine, and Zeref guessed that she was counting out her moves. He had never considered structuring his routine so strictly, but he guessed in a performance with others they would all have to be in sync.

Zeref couldn't help feeling slightly like Natsu as he watched Mavis perform, he was quite mesmerized himself. Though she mentioned that she had twirled fire in her High School band, he'd never seen her do it before and the effect of the sunset behind her was not lost on him as he stared, transfixed. A part of his mind registered that he was in deep, and that maybe he _more_ than just liked this girl, but the rest of his mind was focused on watching Mavis perform her routine.

His eyes landed on her face, her lips rhythmically counting to eight then starting over again, her brows furrowed in a focused expression he had seldom seen there before. It was amazing how she seemed to exude professionalism and seriousness while she was also clearly having fun. Her performance was much more disciplined and structured than he could ever hope to be, and Zeref was amazed she had remembered this routine so well after so long.

Zeref got the sense from the music that the song was winding down, and much too soon in his opinion. He would have been happy to sit there all night and watch her perform. But, as the music clearly hit it's climax Mavis threw her batons high in the air, rolled on the ground and landed with her legs tucked under her and to the side, she held her hands up high, and her batons fell neatly into them.

Zeref sat silently for a moment after the music ended, then his brothers cheering snapped him out of his own mind.

"She's _way_ cooler than you, Zeref!" He said. Zeref couldn't help but chuckle.

"And prettier too." Mavis blinked in shock, and Zeref stopped moving. Wait.

 _Did I just say that out loud?_

 ***Alright, so now, with all four of my Fairy Tail ongoings launched, I want to thank everyone who has followed and favorited any of them! I'm going to be updating all of them, and for people who don't know, here's what's going on: Within the span of two weeks I launched four ongoing Fairy Tail stories. All of them are AUs, and I have every intention of updating all of them regularly. All of the stories can be found here. Here are the summaries for the other three for those who are interested:**

 **Bullet Holes: (A Zervis HS/Mob au)** _ **Mavis Vermilion, a junior in High School, meets a boy on the street who claims to have graduated early. Knowing she needs a tutor for her AP classes, she asks him to help her. Over time, she realizes this boy has a dark past, one that might not necessarily be in the past.**_

 **Confluence: (A Nalu/Jerza/Gajevy/Gruvia Lake House AU) Lucy couldn't bare the idea of another summer alone in that damned lake house with her distant father, so she brought along her best friend Levy. Even though Lucy's father owns this half of the shore, she's long since been curious about what's on the other shore. One day while she and Levy were out on her family's jet skis they meet a few people who live on the other side of the shore and become fast friends.**

 **Troubled Waters: (A Nalu focused with other ships on the side) Lucy Heartfilia, Captain of the Heartfilia Private Navy, has only one goal. She want's to escape Pirate Captain Natsu Dragneel and export her father's goods without any harm coming to her crew. Natsu Dragneel, Captain of the Fairy Tail Pirate Fleet, has only one mission. He want's to take down the evil Heartfilias, and stop them from funding an enemy nation's attempt to bring war to Fiore. After the two both happen to stop on the same Heartfilia owned deserted island to make repairs after a battle, Natsu realizes that maybe the young Naval Captain isn't everything he thought her to be. Is it possible she doesn't know about her father's plans to fund a war?**


	3. Chapter 3

_Did I really just say that?_

Mavis blinked in surprise, her cheeks turning pink as she looked at anything but Zeref. Zeref, on the other hand, was lit up like a Christmas tree, his face so hot that he wondered if maybe Natsu had set him on fire.

"I-um, I mean, I'm not-" Zeref stammered, losing all cognition to his embarrassment. Luckily or no- Zeref couldn't decide- Natsu decided in that moment to cut off Zeref's embarrassing lack of speech by saying, loudly, "You _liiike_ her!"

"S-shut up, Natsu!" Zeref snapped, turning his head as far away from Mavis as possible so hopefully she couldn't see how hot his face was.

"Are you gonna be my new sister?" Natsu asked, peering up at Mavis innocently. _That little brat,_ Zeref thought, his attention snapping to Mavis as her face flushed even deeper.

"Natsu, I said 'shut up!'" Zeref cried. He lunged across the sand at his little brother, determined to silence him before he said anything else humiliating, but he moved too fast.

Like a little bolt of pink lightning Natsu was on his feet and streaking away across the sand, roaring with laughter. Zeref scrambled to his feet, already at a significant disadvantage. Mavis remained in her place on the sand, watching the two of them run, Natsu laughing like a maniac, and Zeref shouting about what he was going to do when he caught him.

She was caught between her fading embarrassment and pleasure about what Zeref had said. What Natsu had said hadn't escaped her either, nor how red Zeref had turned at the accusation. Nor did she miss the lack of denial. Mavis didn't miss much, to be honest, and she certainly hadn't missed on the little hints here and there that said maybe Zeref had feelings for her, too, which was fortunate considering her own crush on him.

She had never said anything about it though, because of the hard time he was having supporting Natsu. He had too much on his plate to worry about romantic entanglements, and she knew that, so she decided to support im in whatever way she could. Bringing his little brother presents to lighten the mood after a bad check in with a social worker was definitely part of it. Despite the anger on Zeref's face she knew he would be having fun playing with his brother on the sand.

"Run, Natsu!" Mavis called, laughing as Zeref swiped for him but Natsu somehow managed to escape his grip.

"Don't encourage him!" Zeref said indignantly.

"Make your bid for freedom!" Mavis said in reply.

That was when it happened. Natsu turned around to taunt Zeref for being unable to catch him, he tripped on his own feet and fell, hitting his head on a rock.

Mavis heard it from where she sat on the ground. She immediately leapt to her feet, sprinting across the sand as Zeref shouted his brothers name and put on a burst of speed she didn't think him capable of. Obviously he hadn't _really_ been chasing Natsu, as she had thought. She reached Natsu moments after Zeref, who had hit the ground on his knees next to his brother and was gingerly turning him over.

Mavis gasped at the sight of his face. There was a gash on his forehead where he had collided with a rock, and half his face was covered in blood. Zeref cradled his brother in his arms, looking terrified. His face was white, his eyes filled with barely controlled panic. Natsu was crying, holding his head in his hands.

"M-mavis, call nine one one!" Mavis nodded and sprinted to the house to use the landline. "It's alright, Natsu," Zeref said soothingly, hoping his brother didn't notice the way he was trembling. "It's going to be alright. Mavis is calling an ambulance and they'll be here soon. Don't worry."

Zeref scooped Natsu up in his arms and got to his feet, holding his brother close to his heart, rocking him back and forth soothingly. He began walking to the house to wait in the driveway for the ambulance when he saw him. Erik. Standing next to their abandoned fire batons with his arms crossed disapprovingly. Zeref clutched Natsu protectively closer to his chest, stroking the back of his head soothingly.

A new kind of fear began gnawing at Zeref now. Not only was Natsu hurt, but the social worker had seen him be hurt, and he didn't look happy. Was it possible this was another strike against Zeref? Could Erik blame Zeref for what had been an accident? Surely this couldn't classify as something that could get Natsu taken away. They had only been playing!

Zeref turned his eyes forward again, ignoring Erik. He murmured comforting things to Natsu. Planting a kiss on the side of his head, Zeref began humming the lullaby their mother had sung him to get him to sleep. This seemed to work, because Natsu's crying quieted considerably, though he still clung to Zeref like his life depended on it.

Zeref began hearing sirens as he made his way to the front steps. Mavis came out of the front door, shooting the social worker a frightened look. She clutched a damp wash rag in her hand, and when she knelt down in front of Zeref he understood her intentions. He shifted Natsu in his arms so he faced Mavis, who then proceeded to gently wipe the blood off his face.

Natsu continued to cry, but not nearly as hard as he had to begin with. Mavis gently wiped away his tears with her spare hand, humming a tune he didn't recognize under her breath. As the sound of sirens began to fill the air Zeref felt his heart slow marginally. The ambulance would be here soon, and Natsu would be alright.

Hopefully there was no lasting damage, and hopefully Erik wouldn't find some way to blame this on him. Well technically Zeref _had_ been chasing him, but that was all in good fun. Natsu knew Zeref would never really hurt him.

 _But is doesn't matter what Natsu knows, if the social worker doesn't._

Just like that Zeref's heart rate sped up again. _Did_ Erik know that Zeref would never hurt Natsu? He had too, surely Natsu would have already been taken away if Erik thought he was in danger from Zeref.

The sirens were closer now, and Natsu was quieter. From what Zeref could tell the bleeding had slowed slightly. _Maybe it wasn't so bad after all._ The sound of Natsu's head hitting the rock still played in Zeref's mind, resonating through his core. It has _sounded_ bad, but sound wasn't necessarily indicative of trauma, right?

Gravel crunching snapped Zeref out of his trance, and he got to his feet as the ambulance came down his driveway, sirens cutting off as it parked. Zeref carried Natsu to the ambulance and handed him off to a paramedic, explaining what had happened. Natsu started crying again as the paramedic inspected his head, probably sacred by all the scary looking medical instruments.

Natsu was always so reckless and blustery that Zeref sometimes forgot that he _was_ just a kid, and kids were scared easily. He sat down next to Natsu and took his hand, leaning down to kiss his hair.

"Hey, it's going to be okay. The paramedics are gonna take good care of you, alright?"

"Don't leave me!" Zeref felt his heart break at his little brothers declaration. Zeref looked at a paramedic, who nodded, so Zeref pulled the child back into his lap, cradling him close.

"Hey, hey," he said quietly, "Don't worry. I'm not going to leave you. Not ever." Zeref glanced up and met the Social Workers gaze with a hardened expression, issuing a challenge with his eyes.

Erik raised his eyebrows, obviously getting the message. Zeref turned his eyes back to Natsu, his expression softening once more. He knew he would probably regret doing that later, but he hadn't been able to help himself. There was a small and fleeting part of him that was aggressive and threatening. It didn't make an appearance often, he was usually shy and gentle, but it was the reason several of the townspeople had a fear-based respect for him.

"We're going to go to the hospital," one paramedic said. Zeref nodded, then raised his voice slightly to speak to Mavis, who was standing outside the ambulance doors.

"Hey, I'm really sorry to ask you this, but could you clean up and lock up the house?"

"Of course, call me when you hear from the doctors." Zeref nodded and smiled at her as the doors closed, and they were carted to the hospital.

Mavis waited until the ambulance was out of sight down the driveway before turning on her heels and glaring at Erik. He raised his eyebrows at her, but didn't speak.

"This wasn't his fault, you know," she said.

"He was being reckless."

"He was playing a game! They were playing and it was an accident, accidents happen." Mavis stormed off towards the beach before Erik could respond or she would say anything Zeref would regret later. While she was cleaning up their mess from the beach she heard his car door slam and Erik driving away. Mavis slipped in the back door and turned on the light, looking around.

She sighed, exasperated. This place was a _mess. Well,_ she thought, _I might as well clean up a bit while I'm here. Who knows how long they are going to be at the hospital, and Zeref would probably enjoy coming home to a clean house._

So she got started. She started by picking up spare pieces of fabric and thread and placing them back in the sewing kit. It looked like Zeref had done the patchwork on Natsu's new skirt that day and hadn't bothered to clean up. She wasn't sure where Zeref usually kept it, so she decided the Laundry room was the best bet.

 _Oh dear._ The laundry room while well organized, obviously hadn't been taken care of in weeks. There at _least_ five loads of clothes to be washed. Zeref didn't strike her as a disorganized person, but he had probably been too busy to do any laundry for a while. _I guess I'll work on that then._ The boys had to have clean clothes after all.

While the laundry was going she did some dishes, then reorganized Zeref's cabinets because they were a mess. Then she put the wet clothes in the dryer, put more dirty clothes in the washing machine, and started them both. She decided to dust, because why not? It would be a nice surprise for Zeref to come home to a clean house after spending all night in the emergency room.

She wondered vaguely if she should clean his room as well. She worried he would see it as an invasion of privacy, or that she would find something embarrassing for both of them in there. Before she decided the dryer finished, and Mavis folded those clothes. She sorted them into piles for Natsu and Zeref, then switched the clothes over and started another load washing.

 _If I just put his clothes on his bed that won't be too bad, and if it's dirty when I go in there then I will just tidy up a bit,_ she decided.

She needn't have worried. Zeref's room was immaculate, except for a pair of pajamas lying on the floor and his unmade bed. Mavis made the bed, left the clothes on the foot of the bed, and picked up the pajamas. By the time her phone rang it was after midnight.

"Hey," an extremely tired sounding Zeref said when she picked up.

"Hey," She replied. "How is he."

"Oh he's fine." The tone of his voice made Mavis ask.

"What happened exactly..?"

"Well they gave him some mild pain medication, and he _freaked out._ "

"What do you mean?"

"I mean when they put in the IV he kept asking if they were injecting him with alien eggs, and then he asked if the MRI was a time machine, and he kept asking to be sent back in time to fight with dragons, and then he asked if the hospital food was a plot to try and get him to _ingest human meat._ I mean _what the hell?_ " Mavis burst out laughing, throwing her head back and letting go of all the tension she'd been holding in since Natsu hurt himself.

" _Dude,_ " She breathed, barely able to speak before laughing. Zeref's tired tone only made it funnier. She could imagine him sitting next to Natsu, looking horrified, as Natsu badgered nurses with ridiculous questions like if the food was made out of former patients.

"It's not funny!" Zeref protested. "That kid is _insane!_ He told one of the nurses our dad was a _dragon._ WHY IS HE SO WEIRD?!" Mavis laughed even louder than before, doubling over and clutching at her stomach.

" _Oh my God I can't breathe!_ "

"It's not funny!" Zeref repeated, "I was afraid they were going to admit him into the psych ward!"

Mavis laughed even harder at the vivid mental picture she suddenly had imagining Natsu in any number of movies taking place in psych wards, running around screaming about fighting dragons and eating fire.

"I hate you," Zeref said, though Mavis could hear the smile in his voice.

"How did the nurses react?" Mavis choked out.

"About like you," Zeref said, and Mavis could tell he was definitely grinning now. "They all loved him."

"It's hard not too, he's precious."

"When he's not being a pain." Mavis chuckled again, then sat down, feeling a little light headed from all the laughing. "Anyway, there was no serious damage, he had to get some stitches, but no brain damage."

"I bet he loved that." Zeref sighed, exasperated, again.

"He kept talking about how he was gonna brag to Fullbuster about his cool new scar, and how impressed that little girl, Lucy, is going to be." Mavis giggled.

"I guess I should have seen that one coming." Zeref made a noise of affirmation, then was silent for a few moments. Mavis wanted to say something, but she got the feeling Zeref was building up his courage to speak.

"Listen," he said, at length, his voice soft. "Thank you, for everything. For the gift and always being so kind to Natsu. He's really fond of you, he's asked for you a few times since we've been here." Mavis felt her cheeks color.

"It's no problem, really. I love you guys, I'm happy to help."

"...Thanks. It means a lot that you've always been good to him." Mavis smiled.

"How could I not adore such a cute and sweet little boy? Really, I love spending time with him, I'm happy you let me come around to hang out with him." Zeref snorted.

"And here I was thinking that you were coming around for _me._ "

"No chance," Mavis joked, "you're brother is much cuter than you."

"Glad we cleared that up then," Zeref's voice brightened considerably.

"Indeed," Mavis said, "you're brothers the real one I'm after. I'm going to steal him away and make him my brother." Zeref laughed loudly at that.

"Is that so?"

"Yup."

"Well I don't know if I could give him up, but we could certainly share."

"Done."

"You know what, I think I'm going to get Natsu a cat," Zeref said.

"Oh no, should I be concerned for the poor feline?"

"Probably."


	4. Chapter 4

***A/N- Okay, okay, here we go again, I AM SO SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT. I know if any of you read my other four ongoings then you knew I would be revisiting this story and you've already read this apology twice. If you don't read those then this is my first apology and I AM SO SORRY OKAY. I needed to step back and focus on high school, but now that I'm a college student with some time on my hands I can look back over these. I can't make promises for regular updating, but I** _ **can**_ **promise I will do my best.**

 **So welcome to the newest (and long overdue) chapter of Ohana!**

 **X x x**

On his way home from the Dragneel house Erik was deep in thought. That Zeref was a strange one. He had done some interviewing around town to see what public opinion of him was, and was surprised to find strangely conflicting stories. Half the people he had asked had described him as a harmless sweetheart who couldn't hurt a fly with puppy dog eyes that just made you want to hug him and tell him everything would be okay. Those interviews had more closely reflected his own first impression of the boy.

However, a few people who had had talked too had seemed terrified of him, claiming his calm to be hiding a storm, and that he was a man with demons eyes who was ruthless to the core. These had given him great pause. The way these people talked made Zeref sound dangerous and formidable, and he certainly did not want to leave a child in a house like that; but the same people who claimed he had eyes like a devil claimed he was absolutely no danger to Natsu. It was peculiar.

He'd initially disregarded these people's statements after meeting the boy himself. The most dangerous vibe he got from Zeref was that he'd failed to look both ways before crossing the street and nearly getting hit by himself. That, at worst, made him a little reckless, not a devil to be feared and avoided. But tonight Erik thought he'd seen just a little bit of the man those villagers feared, who they claimed to have eyes like the devil.

After Zeref assured Natsu he would never leave him he'd shot him a challenging look, gazing directly into his eyes and seeming to pierce his soul, when before he had seemed nearly to afraid to look him in the eye. His eyes had seemed to flash red, but no, that had to have been a trick of the light, the ambulance lights reflected, or something. But still, the look in Zeref's eyes could only be described as murder, like he would kill to keep his brother safe.

This investigation was getting interesting indeed. Which side of Zeref was the one he really showed Natsu, and just who exactly was this boy who inspired such different opinions in his peers?

"Cat! Cat! Cat! Cat!" Natsu chanted, bouncing up and down excitedly in his seat as they drove to the kennel. It would have been cute except Natsu had overheard Zeref telling Mavis that last night, and he'd literally only said one word since then. He'd woken Zeref up early by running into his room and jumping up and down screaming the word "CAT! CAT! CAT!" over and over again until Zeref had finally gotten up and getting dressed to take him to the kennel for the damned cat.

"Natsu if you DO NOT SHUT UP I am going to CRASH THIS CAR and you will not LIVE TO SEE ANOTHER CAT!" Zeref finally snapped, after Natsu had said the word one too many times. Natsu settled down in his seat looking smug, like Zeref's mental break had been his intent all day long. _That little brat_ , he thought as they pulled into the kennel parking lot. Natsu barely waited for the car to stop before leaping out onto the gravel and running inside.

"Damn it, Natsu," Zeref muttered, turning the car off and running in behind his brother.

"I'm here for a cat!" Natsu shouted, standing on his tippy toes so he could see over the counter.

"Inside voice, Natsu," Zeref chided. He looked up at the cashier. "We would like to adopt a cat." He sighed. The woman smiled knowingly, then leaned over the counter to better speak to Natsu.

"Alright, You can go on back to the kennel and pick one out if you want!" She lifted the barrier to the counter, quite unnecessarily because Natsu could have walked straight under it, and he went through to the back.

"He seems quite full of energy," the woman commented to Zeref, smiling.

"You have no idea," he groaned, massaging his temples.

X x x

"Hi cats!" Natsu said, walking through the kennel, waving merrily to each one. He eyed them analytically, wondering which cat would be the best. There were calico cats, which were pretty, but none of them really looked like what he wanted. He wanted a cat to fit their family. Something that could play with him when Zeref was tired or upset. A cat that could help him snuggle Zeref when he was sad would also be a bonus. None of these cats seemed like they made the cut.

That is, until he reached the last kennel and saw a cat that was exactly what he was looking for. It had a big head and little arms, and it was blue. Natsu had never seen a blue cat before, but he knew it was special, just like their little family was. A special cat for a special family. He opened the door and cuddled it in his arms, laughing when it rubbed its face against his cheek.

"I'm going to call you Happy," Natsu said, smiling, and carried it out of the room in his arms to present it to his brother.

"Yeah he actually asked the nurses is-ahh! Natsu what is that?" Zeref shouted, alarmed, when he laid eyes on Natsu.

"It's our new cat! His name is Happy!"

"That is _not_ a cat!" Zeref exclaimed, reaching down as Natsu walked under the counter to take the animal away.

"Hey!" Natsu cried, "give him back!"

"Natsu this isn't even a cat! It's- it's, I don't know what it is but it isn't a cat!"

"Who says? He looks like a cat to me and he was in the kennels with the cats!" Zeref looked desperately up at the cashier, who shrugged her shoulders helplessly.

"I don't know what it is," She said, they brought it in this morning, I didn't think it would live long because it was so deformed."

"Hey, that's mean!" Natsu said. "Zeref says you're not supposed to point out when people are different from you 'cause you might hurt their feelings!" Natsu said, stamping his foot.

"I-ah, yes, that's true, but in this case…"

"Happy is just another cat! It's mean to pick on him because of how he looks."

"Natsu…" Zeref groaned, "does it have to be _this_ cat?"

The cat turned over in Zeref's arms and made a strange sound.

"Yup. He's good. I can tell."

"Blue?" Mavis asked, looking incredulous.

"Yes, literally blue. It's insane. And it looks like something out of a cartoon, I'm a little scared it will give him some sort of disease."

"You should have it tested," Mavis suggested.

"I know, but that takes money, and it's a little tight right now…" He trailed. Mavis nodded. "Oh, by the way, thank you for cleaning up the house after Natsu got hurt, you really shouldn't have troubled yourself."

"Oh, it wasn't any trouble," Mavis replied. "It was a pleasure to help out." Zeref smiled and looked down. Things between them had been slightly different since that day, more tense, like they could both feel the weight of what was between them now and they could no longer ignore it. Zeref kept almost bringing it up and chickening out. What did he expect to happen after he told her anyway? The situation had not changed, he couldn't let himself get distracted by romantic entanglement right now, and Mavis knew that, even if she was interested in him as well.

"Today is the second day of the three day period the social worker gave me to convince him to let me keep Natsu," Zeref sighed, "and day one didn't go well." Mavis bit her thumb nail.

"He can't possibly take Natsu away from you, he just can't." Zeref leaned back up against the locker heavily and put his face in his hands.

"I don't know what I'd do, Mavis," Zeref said, for the first time allowing his fear to show through. He couldn't let Natsu know how worried he really was, or Natsu would get scared, and there was no point in scaring the child. "If they took Natsu away I'd- I'd…" his breath hitched, and he stopped talking, biting the inside of his cheek to suppress the sob building up in his throat.

There was a warm hand on his shoulder, and then Mavis pulled him into her arms. He sucked in a breath and then relaxed into her, sliding his arms around her waist and pulling her close. He breathed her in and sighed, he hadn't had the chance to vent in a while, and it was a relief now.

"I'm sorry I'm such a mess."

"No, no, you have every right to be. It hasn't been all that long since your parents… and now this. Not to mention you never had the chance to properly grieve, you had to be strong for Natsu. You're doing much better than most would in your situation. Really."

"The social worker doesn't think so highly of me," Zeref whispered, struggling to keep his voice even.

"Then we'll make him," she said soothingly, reaching up to stroke his hair.

"How?" he asked, sounding so helpless and broken that Mavis's heart twisted painfully.

"Because I'll be there tonight," Mavis said. "I'm coming over to help out and cook dinner. It'll be a nice family dinner, and when the social worker shows up he'll think 'wow what a nice and cute little family' and that will be that." Zeref chuckled.

"I can't ask you to do that," He started, but she interrupted him.

"You're not asking, and for the record, neither am I. It's going to happen so just deal."

"Even if you did come over, I doubt it'd be that simple."

"Well it would hardly hurt." Zeref couldn't argue with that. Mavis leaned up and and kissed him on the cheek briefly before ducking out of the room.

"I'll be over later," she called. Zeref stood, looking after her, hearing his heart thud in his ears.

"You have that dumb look on your face again," Natsu said, as soon as Zeref walked through the door to pick him up from dance class.

"I do not!" Zeref protested, quickly rearranging his face into something he hoped resembled anger.

"You do so!" Natsu retorted.

"Nuh-uh," Zeref replied.

"You do sort of," Makarov chimed in. "Did something happen with Mavis?"

"S-shut up, all of you," Zeref said, picking up Natsu and tossing him over his shoulder like a potato. "We're going home."

"Zeref and Mavis sitting in a tree. K-i-s-i-n-g!"

"THAT'S NOT EVEN HOW YOU SPELL KISSING!"

"I don't need to know how to spell it to know that you are doing it!"

"I am not!"

"Well then I'll just have to ask Mavis!"

"You better not!"

"I'm gonna!"

"I'll return that stupid cat," Zeref threatened.

"You will not!"

"Wanna test it?" He asked menacingly, buckling Natsu into his booster seat and glaring at him. Natsu didn't reply, instead he opened up his bag, smirking, to reveal Happy sleeping inside. "Natsu!" Zeref protested. "You can't just tote the cat around in your bag! What if it gets hurt, what if it smothers!"

"But what if he got lonely home alone! I had to make sure he knew we hadn't abandoned him!" Zeref felt his heart soften, but kept on his stern face.

"I understand you want your cat to be happy, but you can't carry it around with you. Some people are allergic, what if one of the other kids in your class had a reaction?" Natsu looked down guiltily. Zeref sighed and rubbed his head. "It's alright, just don't do it again."

"Okay," he said sadly, reaching into his bag to pet the cat. Zeref smiled at him and closed the door, walking around to the front door and climbing in. He glanced at Natsu in the rear view mirror, to see that he was now snuggling the cat close, whispering into its ear. Zeref smiled again. The cat had been a good decision.

"Mavis is going to come over later, we're all going to have dinner."

"I knew it!" Natsu cried, startling both Zeref and Happy. "I knew something had happened!"

"Nothing happened!" Zeref insisted, though his cheek burned where she had kissed him.

"She's just going to come over and have dinner."

"Are you trying to impress the social worker by pretending we're all a family?"

"Uh…" Zeref said. How was he supposed to react to that? They _were_ trying to impress the social worker, but who said they were pretending? Family took many forms. Natsu was a little young to understand, and Zeref wasn't sure he could explain it even if he was. He supposed he should try though.

"We are a family," Zeref said. "It doesn't matter if it's just the two of us, or if Mavis isn't related, we can all be a family. There are lots of kinds of families, sometimes a family is just the people you love the most, and that's okay."

"Does that mean you love Mavis?" Natsu asked. Zeref choked and glanced at Natsu in the mirror again. He blinked innocently at Zeref, waiting for an answer.

"It's-it's not as simple as that," Zeref stammared. _Damn, I'm so bad at this._

"So you don't love Mavis?"

"That's not what I- you'll understand when you're older."

"Aww!" Natsu protested. "I hate when you say that!"

"Well then stop asking such grown-up questions." Natsu screamed in anguish, and Zeref rolled his eyes. "Stop being so dramatic, you're not going to die because I can't explain it to you."

"I might!"

"No you won't."

"My feet hurt!" Natsu complained when Zeref was helping him out of the car seat once they'd arrived at their house.

"Of course they do," Zeref replied, picking him up and setting him on his hip, placing his bag on his other shoulder.

"I want macaroni for dinner!" Natsu cried.

"You'll have to tell Mavis, she might have something in mind already."

"I hope it's macaroni!"

"Well you're going to be nice and say thank you no matter what, right?"

"I guess," Natsu pouted.

Zeref handed Natsu the keys so he could open the door, and he walked up the steps while Natsu rattled the keys. Zeref rolled his eyes. _Kids._ When they reached the top of the steps Natsu unlocked the door and Zeref carried him through the door and set him down on the other side.

"Alright, ride's over, go get ready for dinner, put up your things, and feed the cat."

"What are you gonna do?" Natsu asked, sounding irritated.

"I'm going to clean up your mess in the kitchen so when Mavis comes over she won't run screaming."

Natsu walked away with a huff, dragging his bag behind him morosely, like cleaning up his own things was a death sentence. _How can there be so much drama wrapped up in one small child?_ Zeref wondered, not for the first time.


	5. Chapter 5

***A/N- Before anyone says anything, I am well aware that this isn't how social workers really work. My sister is a social worker, I know, I just really don't care. I think it's interesting.**

 **X x x**

Natsu's voice drifted down the stairs as he had what was apparently a very animated, though one-sided, conversation with the cat. Zeref sighed, smiling, as he tidied up the living room, listening to his brother ramble on to the cat. It was apparently very important that the cat know every single detail of his life that way they could bond properly. Zeref choked when he heard his own name though.

"And Zeref has a girlfriend and she's really pretty and nice and you'll get to meet her tonight but you can't say anything because I'm not sure that Zeref knows she's his girlfriend yet because he's dumb. But I know because I can tell." The cat meowed as Zeref fumed.

 _That little brat,_ he stewed. _I'm going to kill him._

"And she'd going to help Zeref cook. Zeref is a good cook, I don't know if Mavis can cook, but I'll be nice even if she's bad at it." Zeref smiled. Even if he was an annoying little brat, Natsu could be sweet sometimes too.

Zeref moved from the living room into the kitchen and began to do the dishes so there would be clean dishes to cook with. Zeref couldn't hear Natsu's one sided conversation over the sound of the sink running, but he was sure the little squirt was still prattling on to that cat. He grimaced when he pictured what the social worker would say about them having a horribly deformed _blue_ cat, but Natsu seemed so-for lack of a better word- happy now. Zeref knew Natsu was a lonely kid, he didn't get along well with the other boys his age, and even the Heartfilia girl's father didn't like him.

Now that he thought about it, Mrs. Heartfilia had died recently as well, so Natsu and Lucy had bonded over that a little. Zeref pitied them, losing someone so important to you was always hard, but especially for kids so young. Zeref wondered if by the time Natsu was his age if he would even remember their parents all that well. Zeref had been lucky enough to have them for his entire childhood, but Natsu would have to grow up without parents. Zeref's eyes burned as he thought about all the fun experiences he'd had with his mom and dad. Tears slipped out of his eyes, his shoulders shaking. _No good, idiot,_ he thought, _get ahold of yourself._

A tug on his pants leg startled him and he looked down to see Natsu looking up at him, eyes concerned, the cat riding on his shoulder. Wordlessly Natsu lifted his arms above his head and Zeref leaned down and picked him up, forgetting that his hands were still covered in soap and water.

"Ew!" Natsu said, squirming, "you're all wet!"

"Sorry," Zeref chuckled, wiping his hands off before drying his face. Happy climbed off Natsu's shoulders and onto Zeref's wrapping it's long tail around his neck. Natsu hid his face in Zeref's hair and hugged him tightly.

"I love you, Zeref," he said. Zeref softened.

"I love you too, kid." They were silent for a few minutes, and Zeref wondered how exactly Natsu always seemed to know when he was sad and how to fix it. _How did I ever get to deserve a little brother so sweet?_ He pecked a kiss on Natsu's cheek just as the doorbell rang, and Natsu shrieked excitedly right in his ear. _Ugh._

"Mavis is here! Mavis is here!" Natsu chanted, bouncing up and down in Zeref's arms while they cat meowed, clearly unsure about the sudden level of noise.

"I hear you, I hear you," Zeref said, pushing Natsu's face away from his ear so his shouting wouldn't be quite so painful. "Could you maybe stop shouting?"

"NOOOOOO!" Natsu yelled in response. Zeref was fairly certain that Natsu was just trying to be mean to make up for being nice earlier at this point.

"Just be quiet you're scaring the cat!" Zeref snapped as he opened the door. Mavis was smiling up at them when he opened the door. He saw her shock briefly when her eyes landed on Happy, but she recovered well.

"I had heard you guys got a new member of the family!" She said stepping in over the threshold. Natsu withdrew his arms from around Zeref and reached out for Mavis, who obligingly took him in her arms.

"Zeref says you're a part of the family too!" Natsu said, and Zeref felt his face flush. _This damn brat, I'm going to kill him._ "And he say's you love your family so that means he loves you! Do you love him?" _I'm going to kill him. I'm going to do it. I'll sew his mouth shut and lock him in a closet oh my God Natsu stop talking._

"Of course! Mavis replied, "I love both of you!"

"Really?" Natsu asked, looking delighted.

"Of course! How could I not, you're both so cute and sweet!" Zeref's ears felt hot, but smiled when Mavis kissed Natsu on the cheek and he grinned happily.

"I'm glad you're here now because you can help me cheer up Zeref!" Zeref's jaw dropped in horror. "He was crying just a minute ago." _Why. Why do you do this to me. Why would he say that. I'm going to die._

"Well he looks much happier now, so I think you must have done a pretty good job on your own," Mavis told him.

"Yeah, but his face is all read and splotchy still." Zeref, unable to take this torment for a moment longer, turned and fled, walking into the kitchen to finish the dishes. _I hate that stupid brat._ The sounds of Mavis and Natsu giggling- probably at his expense- followed him. He continued to fume about Natsu and his big mouth as he finished the dishes, not making eye contact with Mavis when she came up beside him and began drying.

"Natsu says he wants macaroni," She commented. Zereef rolled his eyes.

"We've had macaroni every night for a week," He murmured, glancing over his shoulder to be sure Natsu wasn't listening in. "If I never see an elbow noodle again it'll be too soon." Mavis chuckled.

"Somehow I thought you'd say that. I brought something else to make instead."

"Thank God," Zeref breathed. "I thought I'd never eat a normal meal again." Mavis snorted.

"What would you do without me?"

"Live in a macaroni and cheese hell with only Natsu and a deformed cat as companions."

"You're lucky I'm here then," she replied.

"So lucky," Zeref agreed. "Am I allowed to ask what's for dinner, though?"

"Breakfast for dinner!" Mavis said. "I thought Natsu would like it." Zeref grinned.

"That's a great idea, I don't know if we've ever done that before. You know, because you don't eat macaroni at breakfast." Mavis chuckled again.

"Anyway, I was planning on doing french toast with some strawberries maybe, gotta sneak in those fruit and veggies when Natsu's not looking, and also waffles and blueberry muffins on the side." Zeref was quiet for a few seconds.

"You're a genius. Getting Natsu to eat right is like pulling teeth. You're so much better at this than me."

"Nah," Mavis said, "I'm just a better cook." Zeref laughed.

"Well thank you, that sounds like a lot of work."

"Oh it is, but that's why you're here. Not because it's your house but because you're going to be my cooking assistant." Zeref grinned.

"I'd be honored, Chef Ramsey."

"Does that mean I get to call you an idiot sandwich?"

"Only if I mess up royally." Mavis grinned.

X x x

Zeref had a lot of fun cooking with Mavis, and she didn't just have him running around fetching things for her, most of the time she spent actually teaching _him_ to do it so he could make these things for Natsu later without her. Mavis was a very good teacher, and Zeref couldn't help but notice how cute she looked with her hair tied up and wearing one of his mom's old aprons. The front said "Kiss the cook" and has a Hershey Kiss on it. His parents had loved corny humor. In fact, his dad had a matching one, but Zeref elected not to wear it. It turned out there were a lot more than strawberries on the french toast that Mavis was making, Zeref told her she'd have to write down that recipe because otherwise he would never remember it.

"Natsu, set the table for us!" Zeref called, plopping a piece of toast into the pan while Mavis watched.

"I don't wanna!"

"I don't care!" The sound of Natsu grumbling approached and he entered the room, his face set in a pout. He grabbed a handful of forks from the drawer and a moment later there was a clatter as he obviously threw them down on the table in protest.

"Natsu do it right, or I'll take away the baton Mavis gave you for a week!"

"You're so mean!"

"I know how horrible for you!" Mavis giggled.

"You guys are so cute," she said.

"He's a demon," Zeref said, trying to peering over his shoulder to be sure Natsu set the table properly.

"I'm sure you were just like him as a kid," She replied.

"Was not!"

"Uh-huh."

"Is the food nearly ready?" Natsu asked, laying plates down in front of three chairs and placing forks next to them.

"Almost, Natsu," Mavis said, grinning at him, "just be patient."

"What are we having?" Natsu asked, approaching them and reaching his arms up. Mavis picked him up and moved next to Zeref again.

"Breakfast for dinner!"

"Really?" Natsu asked excitedly, "that's so cool!"

"And we're having lots of sweet and sugary breakfast foods that you've never tried before!"

"Yay! Sugar!" Natsu chanted. "You're so much cooler than Zeref, Mavis."

"Thank you!" Mavis said. Zeref rolled his eyes good-naturedly and slid the last piece of french toast onto the plate with the rest and stepped around Mavis and Zeref to place it on the table. Mavis grabbed the muffins and Natsu took the waffles and set the food down on the table, then sat.

"This is a lot of food," Zeref said, looking around.

"Please, I'm not even sure this is enough. I've seen the two of you eat." Zeref felt himself blush slightly.

"I'm a growing boy!" Natsu said. "I need lots of food!" Zeref blinked. Now where exactly had Natsu heard _that_?

"What do you mean, growing?" Zeref teased. "I already decided you're going to be two foot tall for the rest of your life. You're done growing."

"I am three whole feet tall, Zeref!" Natsu protested. "And I am not! I'm gonna be big and strong like you and dad!"

"But Natsu, I don't wanna be the shortest one! So you have to stop growing when you get to be my size!" Mavis said, starting to cut up her toast.

"So just grow some more!" Natsu said, like that was the simplest thing in the world. Zeref and Mavis laughed. "Ur 'onna 'afta eat 'orean at if u 'ana 'ow." Natsu said, shoving half his first piece of french toast into his mouth.

"What?" Mavis asked, looking like she was desperately trying to stop herself from laughing. Zeref, on the other hand, was horrified.

"Natsu, don't talk with your mouth full!" In one great swallow Natsu down the entire piece of french toast.

"Sorry!" Zeref rolled his eyes and reached out with a napkin to wipe off some of the syrup that Natsu had somehow gotten over his entire face.

"You're so messy," he said gently, smiling.

"So Natsu, what's your cat's name?" Mavis asked.

"Happy!"

"Why'd you name him happy?"

"Because I knew when I saw him he was gonna make me and Zeref happy, so it fit!" Mavis smiled, reaching for a muffin. "I told him he'd have to help me snuggle Zeref when he cries, and he didn't seem to mind, and he even helped earlier when Zeref was crying!" Zeref wasn't sure if he wanted to blush, tell Natsu to shut up and stop embarrassing him, or cry some more. Even if he could be a pain, Natsu really was a good kid.

"I'm sure Happy is a wonderful cat!"

"Do you wanna meet him?" Natsu asked excitedly, standing up in his chair.

"No cats at the dinner table," Zeref interjected. He had to draw the line _somewhere._

"Aww, but what if he's hungry?"

"People food is bad for cats," Zeref said, "It would make him sick."

"Well Happy is a special cat, so I think it wouldn't make him sick."

"We aren't going to test it and find out." Natsu made a pouting face and reached out and grabbed three waffles. He opened his mouth like he was going to try shoving all three of them down his throat at once. Zeref was assaulted with a very clear vision of Natsu choking and having to go to the hospital again.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Zeref said, grabbing Natsu's hand. "One at a time. Here," Zeref leaned over and began cutting Natsu's waffles into bite size pieces so maybe he wouldn't die trying to eat them.

"Thank you," Natsu said, beginning to shovel the cut up waffles into his mouth. _At least he's got_ some _manners,_ Zeref thought.

When Erik pulled up in the driveway, he was a little surprised to see another car there. It looked to be the same one that had been there yesterday which meant...he could just see Zeref and that girl and Natsu sitting at the dinner table. While he watched Natsu tried to shove three waffles whole into his mouth, and Zeref leapt out of his chair to stop him and cut the waffles into smaller pieces. Natsu grinned before he began shovelling the waffles into his mouth.

His stitches from yesterday were only just visible, but he didn't seem to be in pain. After he set the table he walked over to the girl, Mavis he'd learned, and she picked him up, smiling. Zeref had looked into Mavis after yesterday as well, mostly out of curiosity. What kind of person was she? She seemed to spend a lot of time with Natsu and Zeref. What he'd heard about her had been curious as well. She'd been described as warm and loving, but also scary, analytical, and insanely smart. Why did those two get such mixed reviews with everyone he asked? It was strange.

What was more, Erik wasn't sure how he felt about him either. Those eyes from the other night… but maybe he had imagined it? There was no trace of the man he'd thought he'd seen in the back of the ambulance that day. This Zeref appeared soft and vulnerable, and he certainly cared about Natsu, judging by the way he kept fussing over him. Erik decided to let them finish their dinner before he barged in and ruined the night, it looked like they were having fun.


	6. Chapter 6

***A/N- Sorry this took so long, I hope you like this chapter!**

 **x**

"I already told Happy all about you!" Natsu chirped.

"Really, like what?"

"I told him that you're Zeref's girlfriend, but he's just too dumb to know it yet, and that you're really nice!" As Zeref's face flamed Mavis laughed, looking only slightly embarrassed. How was it she was impervious to Natsu?

"Thank you, but did you tell him how sweet and lovable you are?"

"Nuh-uh, I'm mean! Like Zeref!"

"I'm not mean!" Zeref protested.

"Are so! You don't even let me eat in my bedroom!"

"That's because you make a mess at the dinner table, of course I don't let you eat in your room, it's bad enough as it is!"

"It's not messy, I know where everything is!"

"Of course you do it's all laid out on the floor!"

"What's wrong with that?"

Their argument was interrupted by Mavis giggling, and a knock at the door. Zeref and Mavis looked at each other while Natsu scrambled to answer it. Both of them knew who would be standing there when Natsu opened the door.

"IT'S ERIK!" Natsu shrieked, seeming to think that them being five feet away meant they were also deaf.

"Thanks, Natsu, for that enlightening realization."

"You're welcome." Zeref rolled his eyes. "Happy, this is Erik, but his knuckles say Cobra, and I think he's killed people." Natsu lifted Happy up to Erik so he could sniff at him, and Erik's eyes widened in shock.

"Happy is Natsu's new cat," Zeref said unnecessarily.

"I...see that. He's very unique. What kind of cat is he?"

"The blue kind!" Natsu replied. "Come on Happy, lets go play!" Natsu tucked the cat under his arm and left the room with a purposeful stride. Zeref wasn't sure if he wanted to know where Natsu was going with a walk like that, but it couldn't be good. He threw a concerned look at Mavis.

"Mavis could you-"

"Of course, no problem." She seemed to have read his mind, and set off after Natsu, conversing with Natsu and the cat like it was nothing.

"You trust her to look after Natsu?" Erik asked, eyebrows raised.

"Of course I do, they get along great, and she's really responsible. She's shift manager at our work."

"So the two of you work together?"

"Yeah, she's a waitress."

"And how do your employers feel about workplace romances?" Zeref's face heated up again.

"I-we're not- it's not-" but the look on Erik's face told Zeref he wasn't buying it. "It's a tourist luau in a high rise resort not the FBI. They don't have an anti-fraternization rule."

"Fair enough." Zeref sat down on the couch and Erik took the arm chair. "So, does your girlfriend stay overnight much?"

"She's not my- how is that- why would you-?"

"If there are women staying the night frequently at your home it speaks to Natsu's living conditions."

"She's never stayed the night, and for the record, she's not my girlfriend."

"You spend a lot of time with her, and Natsu seems to think she is."

"Well he's a perceptive kid, and… we've talked about it, I've got too much on my plate to worry about keeping a girlfriend, Mavis understands, if you must know." Erik nodded, like Zeref had passed some sort of test, which emboldened him.

"She seemed good with him," Erik commented.

"She great, Natsu adores her, and she really loves him."

"It's good. How is Natsu doing with the loss of your parents?" Zeref sucked in a breath at the pang in his chest, it was still a bit of raw wound for him too. At least Erik was asking him normal questions now, instead of standing in silent judgement of the things Zeref was doing. He could handle questions about Natsu's well being, it was practically all he thought about anyway.

"As well as can be expected, he misses them, obviously, we talk about it some, but I don't want to keep dragging it up so much he can't move on, you know? There's this little girl he has a crush on, Lucy I think, that just lost her mother, and I think it's been good for him to have someone around his age to talk to."

"That's good. He seems happy, if not reckless and frequently injured." Zeref shifted uncomfortably.

"All kids have accidents, right?"

"Not all kids end up in the emergency room for stitches on their head."

"Not all kids are genetically half of my mother and father, they both have plenty of stories about dumb things they did and got hurt. It's a miracle either of them survived into adulthood. Believe me when I say me being cautious is the outlier here." He was quiet for a few moments before a crash echoing through the house interrupted them.

Zeref was on his feet and out of the room before Erik even had a chance to register what was going on. He vaulted through the door to Natsu's room to see Natsu sitting on Mavis's hip grinning madly. Mavis's eyes were trained on something five feet off the ground, looking shocked. Zeref's brain was refusing to process what his eyes told his brain they were seeing.

It appeared to be the cat, Happy, floating in the air, with a pair of fluffy white angel wings protruding from his back.

"What the hell?" Zeref breathed.

"ZEREF THAT'S A BAD WORD!" The childish proclamation brought him out of his stupor and he shook his head to try and clear his mind.

"Right, sorry. But, am I actually seeing what I think I am?"

"Holy hell," Erik breathed.

"ERIK THAT'S A BAD WORD!"

"Yeah Erik," Mavis said. "You shouldn't swear around children, you could be a bad influence."

"Young children are very impressionable," Natsu commented matter-of-factly.

"He's right you know," Zeref added. "For someone whose entire job is around children, you really don't have much of a bedside manner."

"You swore too," Natsu pointed out.

"Yes but I'm but a teenager, all we do is angst and get unreasonably angry, isn't that right Mavis?"

"Oh absolutely, I'm made of angst."

"What's angst?" Natsu asked.

"Not Mavis," Zeref responded.

"Is nobody else seeing the flying blue cat or…"

"My name is Happy!" Happy said.

But no, that couldn't be right, cats can't talk. Happy couldn't have said that. Except cats couldn't fly either, and Happy was doing that. What the hell was going on here?

"You can talk!" Natsu exclaimed happily.

"Yup! I sure can!" Zeref exchanged a look with Erik and Mavis that said, _this just keeps getting weirder and weirder._

 ***A/N- Hey sorry about this chapter being so short, this really just felt like the place to leave it, you know?**


End file.
